Rosanna Leprohon
by George J. Dance Canadian | ethnicity = | citizenship = British subject | education = | alma_mater = | period = | genre = fiction | subject = | movement = | notableworks = | spouse = Dr. Jean-Lukin Leprohon | partner = | children = | relatives = | influences = | influenced = | awards = | signature = | signature_alt = | website = | portaldisp = }} Rosanna Eleanor Leprohon (January 12, 1829 - September 20, 1879) was a Canadian poet and novelist. She was "one of the first English-Canadian writers to depict French Canada in a way that earned the praise of, and resulted in her novels being read by, both anglophone and francophone Canadians."Mary Jane Edwards, "Rosanna Leprohon Biography," Encyclopedia of Literature, 8200, JRank.org, Web, May 2, 2011. Life Leprohon was born Rosanna Ellen Mullins on January 12, 1829, in Montreal, to Francis and Rosanna Mullins. The second daughter of a wealthy merchant, she was educated at the Convent of the Congregation of Notre Dame. She later wrote the poems "A Touching Ceremony" and "On the Death of the Same Reverend Nun" to honor the nuns and convent."Rosanna Eleanor Leprohon Biography", Dictionary of Literary Biography, Bookrags.com, Web, Jan. 31, 2010. She began publishing at age 17, when her poem "The Young Novice" appeared in Montreal magazine The Literary Garland.Leprohon, Rosanna Eleanor," Canada' Early Women Writers, Simon Fraser University.Web, Apr. 18, 2017. It was "followed by serialized novels of manners set in England, published annually from 1848 to 1851."John R. Sorfleet, "Leprohon, Rosanna Eleanor," Canadian Encyclopedia, Edmonton, AB: Hurtig, 1988, II, 1202. Print. Ida Beresford, her debut novel, first ran in the Garland in 9 instalments in 1848. The novel was praised by Susanna Moodie, who called it "a story written with great power and vigor" that promised its author "a bright wreath of fame." On June 17, 1851, Rosanna married Dr. Jean-Lucien Leprohon, and went to live with him in Saint-Charles-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. Within a year she was pregnant; she would go on to have 13 children (of whom 8 survived)."Rosanna Eleanor Leprohon," AllPoetry, Web, May 1, 2011. Her literary output suffered. By 1859, though, she was back in Montreal and had resumed writing, with a new novel, Eveleen O'Donnell, serialized in Boston magazine The Pilot. The experience of being married to a French-Canadian, and living in the heart of French Canada, gave her a perspective denied to most English Canadian novelists – one she put to use in her next novel, The Manor House of De Villerai: A Tale of Canada Under the French Dominion, which was published in installments by the Montreal Family Herald in 1859-1860. In this novel, "Leprohon used a Canadian setting and depicted events of crucial importance in Canadian history. She depicted these events, furthermore, from the point of view of French Canadians," something new in English-Canadian literature. Leprohon continued to write of French Canada in her next 2 novels, Antoinette de Mirecourt or, Secret Marrying and Secret Sorrowing, and Armand Durand or, A Promise Fulfilled, which were published by Lovell in 1864 and 1868. "While Leprohon's earlier works have non-Canadian settings, these three novels are set in Quebec and effectively depict Quebecois history and culture.""Rosanna Leprohon," Library and Archives Canada, CollectionsCanada.gc.ca, Web, May 2, 2011. All 3 of her 'Canadian' novels "were well reviewed at the time of their first publication in both the English- and French-Canadian press." A French translation of each was quickly published, and all 3 "became part of both Canadian literatures." "Le manoir de Villerai (Montreal, 1884) and the French translation of Armand Durand were still being published in the mid-1920s." Interestingly, "Le Manoir de Villerai (installments 1851, book form 1861), frequently reprinted in French, has yet to appear in book form in the original English."Michele Lacomb, "Best-Sellers in French," Canadian Encyclopedia (Edmonton: Hurtig, 1988), 210-211. Print. 5 of Leprohon's poems were included in Edward Hartley's 1864 anthology, Selections from Canadian Poets. In 1867, the biographical dictionary Bibliotheca Canadensis said she had done "more almost than any other Canadian writer to foster and promote the growth of a national Literature." Another novel, Ada Dunmore, was published in the Canadian Illustrated News in installments in 1869-1870. "'Clive Weston's wedding anniversary' appeared in The Canadian Monthly and National Review in 1872. Leprohon's last published work, "A school-girl friendship" (1877), was published in the Canadian Illustrated News in 1877." Recognition In 1881, Montreal Gazette editor John Reade edited a posthumous collected poems, The Poetical Works of Mrs. Leprohon, also published by Lovell. A poem from the volume, "A Canadian Summer Evening," was included in W.D. Lighthall's 1889 anthology, Songs of the Great Dominion.''William Douw Lighthall, ''Songs of the Great Dominion: Voices from the Forests and Waters, the Settlements and Cities of Canada (Walter Scott Series, 1889), Google Books, Web, Apr. 30, 2011. Leprohon's novels were popular in both English and French Canada in the late 19th-century, and were still being reprinted in French in the mid-1920s. They gradually went out of fashion in the early 20th century, as literary styles changed. "Since 1970, however,"says the Dictionary of Literary Biography, "the life and works of Rosanna Eleanor Mullins Leprohon have been frequently noted and increasingly praised by critics and scholars of both English-and French-Canadian literature, and new editions of her works have been published." Publications Poetry *''Poetical Works of Mrs. Leprohon (Miss R.E. Mullins)'' (with introduction by John Reade). Montreal: John Lovell, 1881;The Poetical Works of Mrs. Leprohon (Miss R.E. Mullins) (1881)], Internet Archive, Web, Apr. 5, 2013. Toronto & Buffalo, NY: University of Toronto Press, 1973. Novels English *"The Stepmother," The Literary Garland, February-June 1847. *''The Manor House of De Villerai: A tale of Canada under the French dominion''. Montreal: Family Herald, November 1859 - February 1860;Kathleen M. O'Donnell, [http://journals.hil.unb.ca/index.php/scl/article/view/8030/9087 The Heroine of The Manor House of De Villerai], Studies in Canadian Literature, 10:1-2 (1985), University of New Brunswick. Web, Sep. 19, 2013. Montreal: JCF Press (Journal of Canadian Fiction), 1985. *''Antoinette de Mirecourt: or, Secret marrying and secret sorrowing. Montreal: John Lovell, 1864; Ottawa: Carleton University Press, 1989; Toronto: McClelland & Stewart (New Canadian Library), 2000. *Armand Durand: or, A promise fulfilled. Montreal: John Lovell, 1868; Ottawa: Tecumseh Press, 1994. French *Armand Durand, ou La promesse accomplie. Montreal: J.B. Rolland, 1869; Montreal: Plinguet & Laplante, 1869; Montreal: C.D. Beauchemin, 1982. *Antionette de Mirecourt; ou, Mariage secret et chagrins cachés. Montreal: J.B. Rolland, 1881.Antionette de Mirecourt; ou, Mariage secret et chagrins cachés roman ... (1881), Internet Archive, Web, Apr. 5, 2013. *Le manoir de Villerai: Roman canadien.'' Montreal: Beauchemin & Valois, 1884; Montreal: Librairie Beauchemin, 1925. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au: Rosanna Leprohon, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Sep. 19, 2013. See also *List of Canadian poets *Timeline of Canadian poetry References Notes External links ;Poems *"A Canadian Summer Evening" *Selected Poetry of Rosanna Eleanor (Mullins) Leprohon (1829-1879) - (The Bride of a Year, To my Husband on our Wedding-Day) at Representative Poetry Online * Rosanna Eleanor Leprohon at PoemHunter (106 poems) ;Audio / video *Rosanna Leprohon at YouTube ;Books * *Rosanna Eleanor Leprohon at Internet Archive *Rosanna Eleanor Leprohon at Amazon.ca ;About *Leprohon, Rosanna Eleanor in the Canadian Encyclopedia *Rosanna Leprohon (1829-1879) at Library & Archives Canada * Mullins, Rosanna Eleanor in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography * [http://journals.hil.unb.ca/index.php/scl/article/view/8030/9087 The Heroine of The Manor House of De Villerai] at Studies in Canadian Literature' Category:1829 births Category:1879 deaths Category:19th-century novelists Category:19th-century poets Category:Anglophone Quebec people Category:Canadian Catholics Category:Canadian people of Irish descent Category:Canadian poets Category:Canadian novelists Category:Canadian women writers Category:People from Montreal Category:Women poets Category:Writers from Quebec Category:Poets Category:19th-century women writers Category:English-language poets